Dehumidification system

ABSTRACT

A dehumidification system according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept performs dehumidification of indoor air without power waste and condensation heat by transferring water molecules of indoor air to the outdoor air through a porous separation membrane filter, thereby minimizing energy consumption. Also, the dehumidification system may perform dehumidification without outdoor air flow into the indoor space, which prevents indoor air temperature change due to outdoor air and inflow of pollutants like fine dust included in outdoor air.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2015-0096304, filed on Jul. 7, 2015, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Example embodiments of inventive concepts relate to a dehumidification system, and more particularly, to a dehumidification system performing dehumidification function efficiently while circulating indoor air.

Conventional methods of dehumidifying indoor air are ventilating indoor air, using a dehumidifying agent, and cooling using a compressor. The ventilating indoor air is recirculation of part of indoor air and providing outdoor air into indoor air, which has limitation to reduce the humidity due to high humidity of recirculated air.

The method of using a dehumidifying agent is absorbing moisture in air by using a moisture absorbent such as silica gel adsorbing moisture, which has limitation to reduce the humidity by removing a relatively small amount of moisture in the enclosed space. Also, conventional methods of using a dehumidifying agent or hydrophile coating layer necessarily accompany phase change during condensation process, accordingly resulting in generation of condensation heat.

The method of cooling using a compressor is capable of dehumidification with regards to mass air by removing moisture of indoor air by condensing with a refrigeration cycle, but consuming significant power and generating condensation heat during condensation performance may be problems.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Goal of the Invention

According to an exemplary embodiment, the inventive concept provides a dehumidification system without using a condenser for minimizing energy consumption as well as obtaining dehumidification effect.

Technical Solution of the Invention

A dehumidification system according to an exemplary embodiment includes an indoor air circulation path entering indoor air and exhausting the same into indoor air, an outdoor air circulation path entering outdoor air and exhausting the same into outdoor air, and a porous separation membrane filter located between the indoor air circulation path and the outdoor air circulation path for passing water molecules included in the indoor air passing through the indoor air circulation path to the outdoor air circulation path.

A dehumidification system according to another exemplary embodiment includes an indoor air circulation path entering indoor air and exhausting the same to indoor air, an outdoor air circulation path entering outdoor air and exhausting the same to the outdoor air, a porous separation membrane filter located between the indoor air circulation path and the outdoor air circulation path for transferring water molecules included in the indoor air passing through the indoor air circulation path to the outdoor air circulation path, an indoor air circulation fan installed near the outlet exhausting indoor air from the indoor air circulation path to the indoor space in the indoor air circulation path, an outdoor air circulation fan installed near the outlet exhausting outdoor air from the outdoor air circulation path to the outdoor space in the outdoor air circulation path, an indoor air damper controlling the amount of air flow passing through the indoor air circulation path, and a damper for outdoor air controlling the amount of air flow passing through the outdoor air circulation path.

A dehumidification system according to yet another exemplary embodiment includes an indoor air circulation path entering indoor air and then discharge the same to the indoor space to circulate, an outdoor air circulation path entering outdoor air and then discharge the same to the outdoor space to circulate, a porous separation membrane filter installed between the indoor air circulation path and the outdoor air circulation path and passes water molecules included in the indoor air passing through the indoor circulation path to the outdoor air circulation path, an indoor air circulation fan installed near the outlet of indoor air exhausting the indoor air to the indoor space in the indoor air circulation path, an outdoor air circulation fan installed near the outlet of outdoor air exhausting the outdoor air to the outdoor space in the outdoor air circulation path, an indoor air damper installed in the indoor air circulation path and controlling the amount of air flow passing through the indoor air circulation path, an outdoor air damper installed in the outdoor air circulation path and controlling the amount of air flow passing through the outdoor air circulation path, a sensor measuring the humidity of indoor air, and a control unit controlling the degree of openness of the indoor air damper and the outdoor air damper according to the humidity measured by the sensor and the speed of spinning of the outdoor air circulation fan to be faster than the one of the indoor air circulation fan.

Effect of the Invention

A dehumidification system according to embodiments of the present invention may minimize the amount of energy consumption through dehumidification of indoor air without power waste and condensation heat by transferring water molecule of indoor air to outdoor air through a porous separation membrane filter.

Also, the dehumidification system may perform dehumidification without outdoor air flow into the indoor space, which prevents indoor air temperature change due to outdoor air and inflow of pollutants like fine dust included in outdoor air.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a dehumidification system according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating operation status of the dehumidification system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an expanded drawing of a porous separation membrane filter in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing illustrating the status that water molecules pass through the porous separation membrane filter according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Various example embodiments will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some example embodiments are shown. Inventive concepts may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the example embodiments set forth herein. Rather, example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of inventive concepts to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the sizes and relative sizes of layers and areas may be exaggerated for clarity. Like numerals refer to like elements throughout.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element from another. Thus, a first element discussed below could be termed a second element without departing from the teachings of the inventive concepts. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacently” versus “directly adjacently,” etc.).

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the inventive concepts. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which inventive concepts belong. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a dehumidification system according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept. FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating the operation status of the dehumidification system of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the dehumidification system includes an indoor air circulation path 10, an outdoor air circulation path 20, and a porous separation membrane filter 30.

The indoor air circulation path 10 is a path entering air of indoor space 2 and discharging the same to the indoor space back. The indoor air circulation path 10 is installed on the wall or the window of the indoor space 2, but the embodiment is not restricted thereto, such as installing the indoor air circulation path 10 inside the indoor space is possible and in the outdoor space is possible unless the indoor air may not leak to the outdoor space. The indoor air circulation path 10 includes an indoor air circulation fan 12 for blowing the indoor air such that indoor air may be circulated and an indoor air damper 14 controlling the amount of air flow passing through the indoor air circulation path 10.

The indoor air circulation fan 12 is installed near an outlet of the indoor air circulation path 10. The outlet of indoor air is prepared in one terminal of the indoor air circulation path 10 and exhausts the indoor air into the indoor space 2.

The indoor air damper 14 is installed near an inlet of the indoor air circulation path 10 and controls the amount of input flow of indoor air from the indoor space 2 by controlling the degree of openness of the inlet of indoor air.

The outdoor air circulation path 20 is a path for entering outdoor air and discharging the same to the outdoor space. The outdoor air circulation path 20 is prepared separately to the indoor air circulation path 10 such that indoor air passing through the indoor air circulation path 10 and outdoor air passing through the outdoor air circulation path 20 may not mix. The outdoor air circulation path 20 and the indoor air circulation path 10 are arranged in parallel across the porous separation membrane filter 30. The outdoor air circulation path 20 includes an outdoor air circulation fan 22 for blowing the outdoor air such that the outdoor air may be circulated and an outdoor air damper 24 controlling the amount of outdoor air flow passing through the outdoor air circulation path 20.

The outdoor air circulation fan 22 is installed near an outlet of outdoor air of the outdoor air circulation path 20. The outlet of outdoor air is installed in one terminal of the outdoor air circulation path 20 and exhausts the outdoor air into the outdoor space. The outlet of outdoor air is installed in the opposite side of the outlet of indoor air. The speed of spinning of the outdoor air circulation fan 22 is set to be faster than the speed of spinning of the indoor air circulation fan 12 such that the air pressure inside the indoor air circulation path 10 may be maintained higher than the air pressure inside the outdoor air circulation path 20.

The outdoor air damper 24 is installed near an inlet of outdoor air of the outdoor air circulation path 20 and controls the amount of outdoor air flow from the outdoor space by controlling the degree of openness of the inlet of outdoor air.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the porous separation membrane filter 30 is installed between the indoor air circulation path 10 and the outdoor air circulation path 20. The indoor air circulation path 10 and the outdoor air circulation path 20 are divided by the porous separation membrane filter 30, but the embodiment is not restricted thereto. A connecting passage between the indoor air circulation path 10 and the outdoor air circulation path 20 prepared separately may be formed such that the porous separation membrane filter 30 may be installed therein. The one side of the porous separation membrane filter 30 is positioned in the indoor air circulation path 10 to contact the indoor air and the other side of the porous separation membrane filter 30 is positioned in the outdoor air circulation path 20 to contact the outdoor air. The porous separation membrane filter 30 includes a plurality of holes 32 passing only water molecules included in the indoor air. The size of the holes 32 is larger than the one of the water molecule included in the indoor air and smaller than those of nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2), and carbon dioxide (CO2) molecules.

Also, a sensor 40 measuring the humidity of the indoor air is prepared in the indoor space 2. But the embodiment is not restricted thereto. The sensor 40 may be installed in the indoor air circulation path 10 in other embodiments.

Also, a control unit (not shown) controlling the degree of openness of the indoor air damper 14 and the outdoor air damper 24 according to the humidity measured by the sensor 40 is further prepared. The control unit also controls the operation of the indoor air circulation fan 12 and the outdoor air circulation fan 22.

The sensor 40 measures only the humidity of indoor air, but the other sensor measuring the humidity of outdoor air may be installed separately. In that case, the control unit (not shown) may compare the humidity of the indoor air and the one of the outdoor air and control the degree of openness of the indoor damper 14 and the outdoor damper 24 accordingly.

The operation of the dehumidification system according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept will be described.

The sensor 40 measures the humidity of indoor air at first, and then, the control unit (not shown) compares the humidity measured by the sensor 40 with the premeasured reference humidity.

The control unit (not shown) may determine that the dehumidification for indoor space 2 is required when the humidity measured by the sensor 40 is higher than the reference humidity.

The control unit (not shown) opens both of the indoor air damper 14 and the outdoor air damper 24. At this time, the degree of openness of the indoor air damper 14 and the one of the outdoor air damper 24 may be adjusted according to the humidity measured by the sensor 40. For example, the degree of openness of the indoor air damper 14 and outdoor damper 24 may be increased as the difference between the humidity measured by the sensor 40 and the reference humidity become larger. The degree of openness of the indoor air damper 14 and the degree of openness of the outdoor air damper 24 based on the humidity measured by the sensor 40 may be preset and saved.

Also, the control unit (not shown) operates the indoor air circulation fan 12 and the outdoor air circulation fan 22. At this time, the control unit controls the speed of spinning of the outdoor air circulation fan 22 to be faster than the speed of spinning of the indoor circulation fan 12 such that the air pressure inside the indoor air circulation path 10 may be higher than the one inside the outdoor air circulation path 20. Water molecules in the indoor air circulation path 10 may be transferred to the outdoor air circulation path 20 smoothly, when the air pressure inside the indoor air circulation path 10 is higher than the one inside the outdoor air circulation path 20.

Once the indoor air circulation fan 12 operates, indoor air of the indoor space 2 enters the indoor air circulation path 10 and passes through the indoor air circulation path 10.

Once the outdoor air circulation fan 22 operates, outdoor air enters the outdoor air circulation path 20 and passes through the outdoor air circulation path 20.

The indoor air passing through the indoor air circulation path 10 passes through one side of the porous separation membrane filter 30, and the outdoor air passing through the outdoor air circulation path 20 passes through the other side of the porous separation membrane filter 30.

At this time, the humidity of the indoor air is higher than the reference humidity, accordingly, the concentration of water molecules in the indoor air passing through the indoor air circulation path 10 is higher than the concentration of water molecules in the outdoor air passing through the outdoor air circulation path 20. Also, the air pressure in the indoor air circulation path 10 is higher than the air pressure in the outdoor air circulation path 20.

Accordingly, water molecules included in the indoor air passing through the indoor air circulation path 10 may be transferred to the outdoor air circulation path 20 through the porous separation membrane filter 30.

At this time, the indoor air includes nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2), and carbon dioxide (CO2) besides water molecules, accordingly, the holes 32 of the porous separation membrane filter 30 is larger than the size of the water molecule and smaller than the sizes of nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2), and carbon dioxide (CO2) molecules such that only water molecules may be transferred.

As a result, water molecules are removed from the indoor air by the porous separation membrane filter 30 while the indoor air passing through the indoor air circulation path 10 to perform dehumidification of the indoor air. The indoor air undergone dehumidification while passing through the indoor air circulation path 10 is recirculated to the indoor space 2.

Meanwhile, the outdoor air absorbs water molecules passed through the porous separation membrane filter 30 while passing through the outdoor air circulation path 20 and is exhausted to the outdoor space.

Accordingly, dehumidification is performed without inflow of the outdoor air to the indoor space, which may not generate temperature change of indoor air due to the outdoor air and may prevent inflow of pollutants such as fine dust included in the outdoor air.

Meanwhile, the control unit (not shown) stops dehumidification of the indoor space 2 when the humidity measured by the sensor 40 becomes below the reference humidity.

The dehumidification system according to the inventive concept may minimize energy consumption because it may not require power and not generate condensation heat by performing dehumidification of the indoor air using the porous separation membrane filter 30.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A dehumidification system comprising: an indoor air circulation path entering indoor air and then discharge the same to the indoor space to circulate; an outdoor air circulation path entering outdoor air and then discharge the same to the outdoor space to circulate; a porous separation membrane filter installed between the indoor air circulation path and the outdoor air circulation path and passes water molecules included in the indoor air passing through the indoor circulation path to the outdoor air circulation path.
 2. The dehumidification system of claim 1, wherein the system further includes an indoor air circulation fan installed near the outlet of indoor air exhausting the indoor air to the indoor space in the indoor air circulation path and an outdoor air circulation fan installed near the outlet of outdoor air exhausting the outdoor air to the outdoor space in the outdoor air circulation path.
 3. The dehumidification system of claim 2, wherein the speed of spinning of the outdoor air circulation fan is set to be faster than the one of the indoor air circulation fan.
 4. The dehumidification system of claim 1, wherein the system further includes an indoor air damper installed in the indoor air circulation path and controlling the amount of air flow passing through the indoor air circulation path.
 5. The dehumidification system of claim 4, wherein the system further includes an outdoor air damper installed in the air circulation path and controlling the amount of air flow passing through the outdoor air circulation path.
 6. The dehumidification system of claim 2, wherein the system further includes a sensor measuring the humidity of indoor air and a control unit operating the indoor air circulation fan and the outdoor air circulation fan when the humidity measured in the sensor is higher than the premeasured reference humidity.
 7. The dehumidification system of claim 6, wherein the control unit stops the operation of the indoor air circulation fan and the outdoor air circulation fan when the humidity measured by the sensor is lower than the premeasured reference humidity.
 8. The dehumidification system of claim 1, wherein the porous separation membrane filter includes a plurality of holes whose sizes are smaller than the sizes of nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2), and carbon dioxide (CO2) molecules included in the indoor air and larger than the size of the water molecule.
 9. The dehumidification system of claim 1, wherein the indoor air circulation path and the outdoor air circulation path are divided by the porous separation membrane filter.
 10. A dehumidification system comprising: an indoor air circulation path entering indoor air and then discharge the same to the indoor space to circulate; an outdoor air circulation path entering outdoor air and then discharge the same to the outdoor space to circulate; a porous separation membrane filter installed between the indoor air circulation path and the outdoor air circulation path and passes water molecules included in the indoor air passing through the indoor circulation path to the outdoor air circulation path; an indoor air circulation fan installed near the outlet of indoor air exhausting the indoor air to the indoor space in the indoor air circulation path; an outdoor air circulation fan installed near the outlet of outdoor air exhausting the outdoor air to the outdoor space in the outdoor air circulation path; an indoor air damper installed in the indoor air circulation path and controlling the amount of air flow passing through the indoor air circulation path; and an outdoor air damper installed in the outdoor air circulation path and controlling the amount of air flow passing through the outdoor air circulation path.
 11. A dehumidification system comprising: an indoor air circulation path entering indoor air and then discharge the same to the indoor space to circulate; an outdoor air circulation path entering outdoor air and then discharge the same to the outdoor space to circulate; a porous separation membrane filter installed between the indoor air circulation path and the outdoor air circulation path and passes water molecules included in the indoor air passing through the indoor circulation path to the outdoor air circulation path; an indoor air circulation fan installed near the outlet of indoor air exhausting the indoor air to the indoor space in the indoor air circulation path; an outdoor air circulation fan installed near the outlet of outdoor air exhausting the outdoor air to the outdoor space in the outdoor air circulation path; an indoor air damper installed in the indoor air circulation path and controlling the amount of air flow passing through the indoor air circulation path; an outdoor air damper installed in the outdoor air circulation path and controlling the amount of air flow passing through the outdoor air circulation path; a sensor measuring the humidity of indoor air; and a control unit controlling the degree of openness of the indoor air damper and the outdoor air damper according to the humidity measured by the sensor and the speed of spinning of the outdoor air circulation fan to be faster than the one of the indoor air circulation fan. 